Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-01-01

| throughout this county is grand in the ex-
treme. Although having no navigable
streams, still she is traversed by rivers OF
considerable size, fed by the eternal
SHOWS that cap the Sierras on her eastern
borders, ever furnishing an abundance of
water for mining, irrigation and motive
| power.
THE FIRST WHITE MEN
Who went into Ell Dorado county came
| from Suffers Fort to erect a saw mill
on the south fork of the American river.
They selected site near the present town
of Coloma, and it was in the digging of a
race for that mill that James W. Marshall
made tine great discovery which caused
California 10 spring at once into import
ance, and become State in the sisterhood
without passing through the territorial or
probationary state. Coloma is derived
| from the Indian language, meaning beauti-
| full vale. II was well named, for a more
lovely spot can hardly be found in Califor-
| mia, which is SO far in advance of all other
sections in her scenic loneliness and gran
deur. In less than a year from the discoy-
cry of 9 the root of all evil'' in the bed of
! the American river at Coioma, Ell Dorado
contained population of $4,000, mostly
| young men who were
IN SEARCH OF THE TICKLE GODDESS.
Her streams were beautiful, clear, transpa-
rent, filled with fish that glided through
the crystalline waters, rejecting the sunlight
from their silvery sides. They were over
hung with majestic trees, creeping vines
their borders fringed with evergreen and a
wealth of flora entirely new, in botanical
point of view, to anything they had ever
beheld in their far away and less favored
homes. The pebbled bottoms contained
the precious metal in abundance In some
instances, notably Oregon r9vine, near
Georgetown. the waters rippled over beds
Of gold, and the miners made their fortunes
in a fortnight. 1t would be vain to attempt
TO give any of the history of this historic
county, of its remarkable people, of its
diversified productions, of its soil, climate
and scenery, for its praises have been so
often sung, its history so well known, that
it would be simply relating to old Califor-
mans what they already know, and to
Eastern people who have read the early
history of California, it would be twice
told tale" for the history of Ell Dorado
county is the early history of California
itself For many years Ell Dorado was
California-it was
THE EMPIRE COUNTY OF THE STATE,
And had as much to do in controlling the
politics of this State, up to 1856, as San
Francisco has to-day. To-day Ell Dorado
is not the banner county of the
State. The gold placers that attracted the
early immigration have long since been
exhausted, and the miner, who never would
follow any other vocation, has departed for
other fields where he can delve for the
precious metals in the bowels of the earth.
For him the orchard, the vineyard, the
fields of waving grain, the herds of lowing
stock have no attraction. With him life
is ever gamble To make a fortune by
lucky strike" to find golden nugget of
immense proportions, to unearth bo-
nanza, are his only thoughts by day, his
constant dreams by night.
AS result of this feverish unrest, this
one object the thirst for gold, the early
population paid no attention to the agricult-
ural resources of the county. However,
some few dividing their time between
GOLD HUNTING AND TREE PLANTING,
Soon discovered that the latter was the